We are aware of the importance of trends in the marketing world. In recent years we have seen how there has been a significant evolution of techniques to the inbound marketing, outbound marketing or attraction marketing. Many companies have realized that they get better results by posting interesting content which adds value to the user. Content that is shareable online and with which users can interact. On the contrary inserting advertising messages has resulted ineffective and perceived as intrusive by users. The inbound marketing has additional benefits such as improved branding, brand recognition and growth of audience, and potential customers.
There are some trends relating to this way of understanding, where marketing will continue to rise in the coming months and that should be taken into account.
Content continues its reign. Content is King.
Content marketing will continue to grow because it has proved to be a great tool to build a relationship of trust and loyalty with the audience. The main strategies used by large B2B companies are social networks, the e-Newsletter or videos and articles on other sites. These channels tend to be used to deliver compelling content for the target audience, and they have proven to be more effective than ads on television and radio.
The image dominates the field
Given the barrage of information that consumers receive daily, it is essential to offer digested content as possible. That explains the fast growth that Buzzfeed or Pinterest have had. Networks have emphasized on the images and have demonstrated the potential that viral content has, based on photos and graphics.
In fact, the most popular and shared blogs are those who display splashing illustrative images, or very explanatory text with info graphics and charts.
The social media marketing requires more diversity
Until recent years, companies were limited to social networks, the implementation of their campaigns rarely went beyond Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn. But the range of possibilities has become immense and everyday new social networking is born. There are some others that make an impact straight away, like Pinterest, Google,Tumblr or Instagram that have become very popular and have offered companies a lot of new possibilities to develop attractive content. Business can build their audience through many more channels.
This diversification seems to be fruitful for many companies because it allows them to build their brand image by making consumers recognize them more easily and raise brand awareness.
Mobile- friendly content is already a need
No going back. Companies have to adapt their content to mobile or tablet form, mainly with responsive designed specifically for mobile versions. The reality is clear about mobile content: According to several studies by Forbes, 87% of connected devices in 2017 will be smart phones and tablets. Companies that won’t adapt their content to mobile devices will risk losing customers by not joining the trend.
The retargeting will become increasingly effective
It is a marketing strategy that has deepened in recent times. In short, the track is retargeting cookies through the websites that the user has visited. Once you leave the website, the products and pages you have visited will return to show in the form of ads on pages for which you navigate.
Given that only 2% of web traffic becomes from the first visit, the retargeting is a very effective tool, if used correctly, to increase conversion rates, and customer recalling the products and services you have accessed. In fact, there are psychological studies showing that mere exposure to the brand name, or the logo generates familiarity and some confidence in consumer’s willingness to purchase.
Tandem of SEO and Social Media
Although social has never had the same weight as other inbound marketing tactics, it is indisputable that it plays an important role in organic positioning. Since Google and other search engines strive to provide users with the most relevant content, and higher quality of the entire network, it makes sense that one of the factors is the number of times a post has been shared.
The more content you share, the more susceptible it is to be of high quality, to add value to the user, and therefore it must occupy a higher position in the results pages.
It is difficult to know which way the search algorithms will continue, but there’s a good chance that by the end of 2014 the social shares equate, or even outweigh, other links of inbound marketing.Find more about SEO and Social Media, and the reports from Forbes and connected devices by 2017 here.